The general contractor on the Connecticut powerplant project that suffered a fatal explosion in February says it plans to contest $8.3 million in federal penalties proposed on Aug. 5 for safety violations. O&G Industries Inc., Torrington, Conn., was one of 17 site contractors fined a total of $16.6 million by the U.S. Labor Dept.’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration for 371 alleged violations related to the blast at the 620-MW Kleen Energy LLC combined-cycle plant in Middletown. Six workers were killed; 50 were injured. Photo By AP/WideWorld Kleen Energy powerplant project in Connecticut was the site of a fatal explosion
Lonnie Schock learned long ago that safety can’t be bought. A decade ago, while working as a safety professional on a job in Oregon for Intel, he got a tough lesson in how incentive programs intended to lower incident rates actually can unravel a project’s safety culture. The company used a popular lottery system, seen on many construction sites over the years, in which workers who reported solid safety statistics earned chances to win a new pickup truck; anyone injured on the job was ineligible for the prize. Workers driving to the jobsite saw the truck parked in front of
Employers soon will be held to a higher level of accountability regarding construction cranes. Federal safety regulators may be asking employers for their operator’s certification card during a routine jobsite inspection or accident investigation. However, the significant yet controversial mandate for operators to be trained,tested and certified to a national standard nearly died on the bargaining table. It was the will of one hoisting expert—under intense pressure from special interests to vote it down and even facing the possibility of losing his job as a prominent contractor’s crane-fleet manager—that kept it alive. Related Links: Construction Industry Gets Ready To Implement
Rigger William Rapetti was acquitted in July of all criminal charges against him in connection with the deadly collapse of a tower crane in New York City on March 15, 2008. However, with both of his licenses taken away, he says it has been difficult “to get my life back.” When he talked with ENR by telephone recently, Rapetti was waiting in his union hall because his rigging and crane operating licenses have been revoked by the city. Not having these credentials has forced him to turn down three jobs. Only his rigging license was in play at the collapse,
O&G Industries, the Torrington, Conn.-based general contractor on a Connecticut powerplant project where a fatal blast occurred in February during a natural gas venting operation, says it plans to contest penalties levied against it Aug. 5 by the U.S. Labor Dept.’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Photo: AP Wideworld Plant construction The firm was among three construction companies and 14 subcontractors that OSHA cited for numerous alleged workplace safety violations related to the Feb. 7 blast at the 620-MW Kleen Energy LLC plant in Middletown that killed six workers and injured 50 others. OSHA has proposed $16.6 million in penalties
In one of the most important federal construction safety actions in years, the Labor Dept.'s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has issued a sweeping new rule aimed at reducing deaths and injuries involving construction cranes. OSHA says that the rule, released July 28, will affect about 267,000 construction and crane rental companies and certification organizations that together employ about 4.8 million workers. The 1,070-page revised standard for Cranes and Derricks in Construction replaces a 1971 regulation and is "long overdue," says Labor Secretary Hilda Solis. Most provisions of the new rule will take effect Nov. 8. One key provision, a
After at least 11 confirmed incidents involving defective light poles, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission on July 6 issued a repair notice covering more than 2,500 of the standards already placed in stadiums around the U.S. The poles, which typically weigh one to four tons and soar up to 135 ft above the ground, were manufactured by a now-defunct Texas firm, Fort Worth-based Whitco Co. LP. Photo Courtesy Of Hays ISD Inspections for defects have been ordered for more than 2,500 poles manufactured by the now defunct Whitco. There were no known injuries, but several close calls were reported.
Crane experts are watching William Rapetti’s trial closely. Many believe that regardless of the outcome, more stringent safety and certification codes for crane operations are on the way. Related Links: Engineer Rejects N.Y. State’s ‘Sling Theory’ in Rigger Trial “A catastrophic loss like this is always a shot heard around the world,” says Edward Shapiro, president of Heavy Equipment Services Co., Niantic, Conn., referring to the industry’s response to the 200-ft tower-crane collapse on March 15, 2008. “It’s too bad it takes a catastrophic loss to focus in on [safety] issues.” After a crane plummeted 16 stories in San Francisco’s
Attorneys on July 12 began presenting their case in defense of William Rapetti, the Long Island, N.Y., crane rigger on trial for manslaughter. Photo By AP/WIDEWORLD Attorneys for rigger William Rapetti (center) began calling witnesses on July 12. Related Links: ‘A Shot Heard Around the World’ Prosecutors allege that Rapetti, who is accused of causing the midtown Manhattan accident that killed six construction workers and one civilian on March 15, 2008, used just four nylon slings—rather than eight, as the manufacturer suggested—to hold the crane’s six-ton collar to its mast during a “jumping,” or extending, operation on the site of
A new study published in a National Safety Council journal says that widely differing perceptions of safety helped conceal that an aggressive schedule, congested jobsite and lax safety enforcement may have created conditions that led to eight construction worker deaths at two big Las Vegas projects, City-Center and Cosmopolitan, between 2007 and 2008. Photo Courtesy Of CityCenter Land LLC The contractors say MGM Resorts owes $492 million for CityCenter. Perini Building Co., a unit of Sylmar, Calif.-based Tutor Perini Corp., is the general contractor for both projects. The study appeared in the most recent issue of the Journal of Safety
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